Don Hatton retires from the 2013 Dakar race

Duncan BC: We are sad to announce that Don Hatton has retired from the 2013 Dakar Rally

Late in Stage 3 of the event Don was involved in a collision with one of the large race trucks. After a gallant attempt to keep the bike going with no navigation equipment, no driving lights and barely operational approximately 4km from the end of the stage the bike failed to re-start. He was brought to the end of the stage by Dakar medical staff, which follow the race to ensure the safety of all the entrants, and who had been following him since approximately 20km from end of the stage.

Don has not suffered any life-threatening injuries and appears to be ok.

We wish to thank all of Rally Raid Canada’s supporters, sponsors and fans. Hopefully we will be back for the 2014 Dakar !

These are huge events to finance, organize and facilitate. It takes thousands and thousand of hours of preparation and operational work to lay out the route, make sure there is enough fuel stops, man the check points etc.

To give you and idea of just how many people are involved, just consider how many medical staff there are. Four doctors on motorcycles to accompany the race, four doctors in support vehicles (car or 4x4), two doctors in helicopters, two nurses specialized in trauma, and two physiotherapists. That is more than some of our smaller communities in Canada have in their hospitals!

And tonight we are thankful to the organizers and the volunteers of the Dakar for their foresight for making sure Don made it to the bivouac safely.